Top guns advance to quarterfinals

Kathmandu, April 24

Nepal No 1 pro Shivaram Shrestha advanced to the quarter-finals of the Surya Nepal NPGA Match Play along with Bhuwan Nagarkoti, Sanjay Lama, Dhana Thapa, Rabi Khadka, Jayaram Shrestha, Pashupati Sharma and Bal Bhadra Rai here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.

Top pro Shrestha defeated Pradeep Kumar Lama 3&2 in the first round match. Likewise, No 2 golfer Bhuwan Nagarkoti also registered a 3&2 victory over Yelamber Adhikari.

Lama defeated Bikash Adhikari 2&1, while Dhana Thapa came out as the best winning pro defeating Ram Krishna Shrestha 5&4. Pashupati Sharma beat defending champion Rame Magar 5&3, whereas Bal Bhadra Rai and Rabi Khadka registered victories over veteran pro Deepak Magar and Ramesh Nagarkoti 1up on the final hole on the first day of the event.

The match between Jayaram Shrestha and Surya Prasad Sharma was decided in the second extra hole of sudden death after both the pros were tied after regular 18 holes.

In Wednesday’s quarter-finals, Shivaram will face his brother Jayaram, while Thapa will play against Khadka.

Likewise, Lama will take on Pashupati and Nagarkoti will play against Rai. The semi-finals are also slated for Tuesday.

The third-place and final matches will be held on Wednesday. The final will be played over 36 holes.

A total of 16 pros, based on the Order of Merit in last season, took part in the tournament which carries a total cash purse of Rs 250,000.

The top four pros will earn Rs 70,000, Rs 40,000, Rs 28,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively, whereas losing quarter-finalists will get Rs 11,000 each.

Likewise, the eight golfers who were eliminated from the first round will receive Rs 6,000 apiece.